To think people look down on care assistants

[Fjdowkrialkakvk]

And many other low paid jobs in general.
I went to university but I work predominantly as a HCA. I also work one day a week in a 'professional' role related to my degree.
Fortunately I am a relatively well-paid care assistant, earning £2 an hour more than the minimum wage. Many care homes or companies pay the bare minimum wage. I also get time and a half on all bank holidays which not everyone does.

Part of my role involves community care. I've had a client's daughter tell me she was 'surprised' i was in this role as I seemed intelligent and like I had more to offer.
I just take comments like that as tone deaf. I've also had some families of clients who clearly look down at you even though you're assisting their family member to live.
Just earlier I was at a lady's home and her granddaughter was there staying for a couple of days. She asked me to go and do her Grandma's washing up.
The Granddaughter could have bloody done it herself, it's just laziness and probably thinking they're too good to do it themselves.

It's considered a low skill role, and there's a common misconception that high pay must always mean high responsibility and vice versa.

I am physically and verbally assaulted by dementia residents, deal with medication and care equipment, I believe care assistants have a lot of responsibility. Luckily we have many appreciative residents and families.

Has anybody ever felt that such work is looked down upon or considered lowly?

@Luredbyapomegranate

I think it involves great skill, is tremendously hard work, and extraordinarily valuable.

I’m sorry people aren’t respectful of you, that’s really poor.

But I suspect the people who express surprise are just being honest. It’s not a job graduates would normally do (long term) and I’d guess they are just thinking that your skills might be put to even better use if you were a health visitor, for example.

@Luredbyapomegranate

I rather agree with this

I have a lot of respect for carers, and think there should be a recognised career path

@Countdownis35

I agree. It got so bad for that where I work that they changed the contracts to state that toiletries would be provided by the home and the resident or their POA would be billed monthly for this as we were bringing in toiletries for people, you know us minimum wage workers who are too thick to do anything else.

Around 50% of our residents don't get visits at all - only one doesn't have family and a friend visits him every week, without fail, even through lockdowns where only window visits were permitted.
Plenty of people kicked up about that - mostly the ones who never visit in the first place.

Pre pandemic staff like me would give up our day off, unpaid, to accompany people on hospital visits or social trips - some family would too but the vast majority couldn't because of work - quite happy to let us do it for free though so they didn't lose a days pay or annual leave.

This topic of families being uninvolved is a taboo one but it needs to be said quite honestly, we know all about the cost of living and what it takes, we're trying to do it on minimum wage or just above, the problem isn't that people don't care for their own, the problem is the way those they outsource it to are treated and viewed and the cognitive dissonance between me doing my job that is sneered at for it and the fact that if I didn't, there'd be no option other than to take the financial hit and care for their own.

Look how care workers were spoken about on here when some of us were against covid vaccines being mandated to keep our jobs.

Look back on some of those threads.

Many people were of the opinion that care workers were too stupid to understand covid vaccines.

I’ve been outwardly laughed at in the past as well when people ask what I do and I say I work in a care home.

I was really proud when I went back to college as an adult and did a health and social care btech, only to be laughed at by a teacher friend of dh because I had done in my 30s something, that in her words, “the thick girls at my school who are just going to get knocked and drop out up get made to do because they are too dumb to do anything else”.

Or I get the head tilt and the “that must be so rewarding” line which makes me want to be sick to be honest.

This topic of families being uninvolved is a taboo one but it needs to be said quite honestly

Yes. I worked in a extremely wealthy Jewish care home and the issues were the same infact worse. I attended the hospital with someone's mother... waiting around it took hours. The daughter ended up getting herself off.. to buy a lipstick at Harvey Nichols.
This is British culture.... there's no bloody excuse because we all are busy and have families. A chuffing lipstick though? My mind boggles!

There is a thread on here someone posted not long ago. It was a mum who was worried her daughter had picked health and social care as a GCSE and didn’t want her in some “crappy care job”…. Literally about two weeks ago on this site.

In reality they're relying on the people who do these jobs to ensure they can go out and use their 'good brain' to earn a lot of money

Exactly!!!
At nursery once I got them a nice meal for the whole team at Christmas, it was £50, but they look after our babies all year!!!! So I didn’t think it was much, they said they rarely get gift, certainly not ones of that value.

I was shocked, the word would stop turning if they didn’t work, it’s insane to NOT treat them that way. Same with cleaners/care workers or what ever nmw job it is.

@JollyWilloughby

There is a thread on here someone posted not long ago. It was a mum who was worried her daughter had picked health and social care as a GCSE and didn’t want her in some “crappy care job”…. Literally about two weeks ago on this site.

I’ve found that people often say how wonderful care work is, what angels we are - until one of their children might end up doing it. Then they are horrified.

I haven’t actually worked in care for 2 years now since a big house move. I wouldn’t go back to it - I couldn’t anyway as I’ve chosen not to have a covid vaccine.

In that time, my dad has had a very fast decline into dementia. He’s now in a care home
and I thank my lucky stars that I did work In care as i knew which chains go avoid, what to look out for.

So many people were horrified that he’s in a home, they assumed he would live with me as “that’s what I did!”

Those people had never experienced dementia close up before or they would have realised that it’s a living hell and my very young children wouldn’t have been safe.

@JollyWilloughby

There is a thread on here someone posted not long ago. It was a mum who was worried her daughter had picked health and social care as a GCSE and didn’t want her in some “crappy care job”…. Literally about two weeks ago on this site.

Awful and thoughtless thing to say, but I imagine she was concerned about earning power.

I wouldn’t want my children doing it because of the pay, not because I don’t respect it (and I did care work during and just after college so I know it is both tough and rewarding.)

@Luredbyapomegranate

Agreed. I just think she could have worded it a little better.

I’ve been a carer and I wouldn’t want my kids to do it.

@Kurtanforpm

Also agree. I don’t like all the angel talk although I appreciate it is said with good intentions.

@Kurtanforpm

Yes agreed, it’s a naive view from people who have no experience of dementia.

Care work is seen by many as "a job anyone can do", according to a thread recently where a poster was of the opinion that people on benefits should be made to be carers. The fact that many of those in caring roles were claiming UC due to the poor wages appeared to be lost on her. Sadly many posters agreed with her. None of them had actually done any paid care work themselves it transpired but, yeah, it was "so easy" and people not prepared to do it were "lazy".

I agree. It got so bad for that where I work that they changed the contracts to state that toiletries would be provided by the home and the resident or their POA would be billed monthly for this as we were bringing in toiletries for people, you know us minimum wage workers who are too thick to do anything else.

Ours needs to do that. My work bag has soap bars in it for the residents who have run out. Clothing doesn't fit at least three residents so they're wearing the same few stuff over and over (laundered of course) because the family either aren't providing it or the home itself doesn't have anyone available to go shop for the residents using their own funds. I add extra items to my weekly Asda shop for a resident who is needing things. Like we can afford that on our shit excuse for a wage. But we do it for the people who need us.

I have a non verbal teenager with a severe learning disability and challenging behaviour so I know that care work is a skilled role and deserves a better rate of pay. People who think anyone can walk in off the street and do it with no skill or desire to become skilled, are deluded.

It's an incredibly hard job - not just the physical work, but the emotional and social skills you need for it too. I was a HCA in CAMHS for a bit after quitting a much better paid but soul destroying corporate job. It is a hard job that needs a lot of interpersonal / soft skills as well as being physically demanding.

I get the impression that some people (men?) think those things are innate / natural to others (women?), so completely discount the work needed to develop them.

If I could afford it I'd happily go back to a band 2 HCA from a band 7

There's something very special about being able to give that level of care

Bloody hell, the personal qualities required are not something many people could muster.

Don't let anyone look down on you, OP>

Unfortunately some people have had bad experiences of poor care of their elderly relatives, so I don't think it's always a case of people looking down on care workers, but more that their experiences have clouded the way they look at them. I must admit ive had a couple of relatives in care homes, and they've been looked after really poorly by people who don't seem to have had training, and tbh coming across as lacking in empathy or any knowledge of how to do the job. It's a shame, as I guess there are many like yourself who do a great job, but unfortunately I've yet to meet one myself

I have to agree my dad has terminal cancer and the good ones leaves. The last couple of ones have been shocking we had one refusing to help my dad when he split coco over himself another who could barely stand and smelt of alcohol and fell into the wall when trying to assist my df. Had one refusing to do his shower.

@TomAllenWife

If I could afford it I'd happily go back to a band 2 HCA from a band 7

This comes up a lot. I remember nurses saying that too they can't afford it. But most Band 5 work unsociable hours and I know some band 6s don't work as much.

I think as a HCA (hospital) you can earn well doing nights/weekends.... some of my old department earnt the same as the junior sisters so I can't understand it.

After having DS I used to get after tax around £1100 per month that was for just 2 nights a week.
Most nurses on the wards said they didn't even take home £2000 ! Month that was an experience cardiology nurse too.

I feel the issue with healthcare workers is that because its considered 'unskilled' and therefore low paid it encourages the wrong sort of people to the role (those who don't have the desire to help/care/have the relevant bedside manor, but instead those just looking for a job) - and this is where the bad experiences come from.

I genuinely believe healthcare workers should be paid more and given opportunities for more career development than they do. They work so hard, and give so much, yet get so little.

I'd never consider healthcare workers are unintelligent, I'd put them on par with nurses, just not receiving the same level of training.

@Bananarama21

Unfortunately some people have had bad experiences of poor care of their elderly relatives, so I don't think it's always a case of people looking down on care workers, but more that their experiences have clouded the way they look at them. I must admit ive had a couple of relatives in care homes, and they've been looked after really poorly by people who don't seem to have had training, and tbh coming across as lacking in empathy or any knowledge of how to do the job. It's a shame, as I guess there are many like yourself who do a great job, but unfortunately I've yet to meet one myself

I have to agree my dad has terminal cancer and the good ones leaves. The last couple of ones have been shocking we had one refusing to help my dad when he split coco over himself another who could barely stand and smelt of alcohol and fell into the wall when trying to assist my df. Had one refusing to do his shower.

With the exception of the drunk one (😱) there may well have been good reasons why carers refuse to do something. I've refused to move someone or to shower someone that requires two people and that second person isn't available, and I feel it wouldn't be safe for the client or me to carry on and do a shower. I can feed this back, but I won't get that second person straight away, so I have to refuse - damned either way because if I do it I'm going against the care plan and my duty of care but the relatives are happy, and if I don't I'm still going against my duty of care and the relatives have me down as awkward and lazy. And why am I in that position? Because enough staff (and maybe equipment) to safely complete the job within the standards expected haven't been made available to actually do it, but I carry the responsibility and concequences of it either not being done safely or not being done at all. And abilities vary from day to day with most illnesses too, what's safe today may not be tomorrow or need more time - time that's not available because you're already running late and there'll be a complaint that the next person in line was left too long for what they needed. Care assistants have the same duty of care to everyone, and are often faced with failure in that to one person to deliver it to another, and when that's investigated it's always the care assistant being awkward, nasty, lazy, incompetent not the bigger picture that there is not enough time or resources to deliver the standards of care needed.

A family member is a HCA and amazing at their job. I do agree with previous posters they have said it attracts the wrong kind of people because it's usually advertised as "no experience needed" and minimum wage. If it was better paid and valued it would attract more of the right kind of people. It's similar to how nursery workers are valued. Both carers and nursery workers look after our most vulnerable people and do an amazing job with a great deal of responsibility. Jobs that many of us couldn't do.
More money, better screening of candidates (it has been seen for too long as something you do if you can't find anything else or an "easy" course to get on if you don't want to do A levels/uni etc) and better training is what's needed.

I don’t think it helps when you see so many care jobs advertised with ‘no experience or qualifications needed’.